The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s appeal to cancel arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, reports the Middle East Eye.In May, Israel requested the ICC withdraw the warrants while a separate challenge over the court’s jurisdiction was still under review.The court dismissed the request on 16 July, ruling there was “no legal basis” to cancel the warrants while the jurisdiction issue remained unresolved.Israel sought to appeal that decision a week later, but on Friday, ICC judges ruled that “the issue, as framed by Israel, is not subject to appeal”.
Although Israel is not a member of the ICC, the State of Palestine was granted membership in 2015. Accordingly, the court can investigate Israeli individuals for crimes committed in occupied Palestine, which includes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu and Gallant were issued the arrest warrants in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023. It was the first instance in the court’s 22-year history that it issued arrest warrants for western-allied senior officials.
The arrest warrants were hailed as a “historic decision” by Palestinians while Israeli officials condemned them as “antisemitic”.Since then, the ICC has faced a campaign of criticism, threats and punitive measures by Israel’s ally, the United States.